Report: How GOP lost young voters — “In the short term, the party ought to promote the diversity of thought within its ranks and make clear that we welcome healthy debate on the policy topic at hand.” Why in the hell are you a Republican if you believe diversity of thought and healthy debate are actually good ideas? Or have you never heard any single GOP political or media figure speak, ever? And you’ve obviously never read any GOP party platform.

China aiming to be newest—and largest—space superpower — Experts say a Chinese moon landing “very much in the cards.” Good for them. We’ve certainly lost the will to space here in the United States. I’m glad some country somewhere has the pride and ambition to keep trying.

Are Americans Ready to Rebel Over Climate? — Sadly, no. There is a much stronger streak of rebellion over the entirely imaginary Kenyan Muslim socialist depredations of our current president than there ever will be over the civilization-threatening reality of climate change.

Al Gore hurricane hubbub and climate change — While some supporters of climate policy reform occasionally overstate the effects climate change will have on extreme weather, opponents of climate policy often go completely off the rails, accusing scientists of possible criminal behavior and rejecting the reality of climate change itself. The latter actions are far more damaging to dialogue around climate policy. In fact, they poison our public discourse. You can’t deal with a problem if you refuse to acknowledge it exists. Welcome to conservative America.

When Australians gave back their guns — Some countries are sane when it comes to gun violence. And much, much more successful at ensuring the safety of their citizens than we are. Firearms are America’s national mental illness. 30,000 deaths per year has no justification.

Student ‘Subversives’ And The FBI’s ‘Dirty Tricks’ — Ronald Reagan always was a liar and a fraud. He was doing many of the things to stifle dissent and restrict freedom that conservatives like to pretend Obama is doing, about the time Obama was born. Ever seen a freedom-loving Republican protest the Gipper? (Snurched from Steve Buchheit.)

Health Plan Cost for New Yorkers Set to Fall 50% — Obamacare is a real disaster, isn’t it? What’s this country coming too when people pay less for a better service from a conservative ideal that happened to be sponsored by a Democratic president? This is the very definition of creeping Socialism.

National Debt Graph by President — [T]he Voodoo [Economics] failed just as Bush predicted, and the supply-siders turned a 32-year winning streak into a debt disaster that continues to this day. For 20 years, under Reagan and the Bushes, the national debt increased compared to GDP every single year. In most other years it decreased. Supply side economics never worked. It’s just another one of those counterfactual conservative political fetishes that they justify within their bubble of epistemic closure. Another example of reality’s well-known liberal bias.

4/22/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (WRPA, plus some work on my archives which I didn’t include in the time tracking)
Hours slept: 7.0 hours (fitful)
Body movement: 0.0 hours (injured foot)
Weight: n/a (couldn’t stand on scale due to injured foot)
Number of FEMA troops on my block faking evidence for climate change: 0
Currently reading: The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

[links] Link salad says rock me Asmodeus

at Genome Conference — Nabsys’s technology could provide the positional accuracy missing from current DNA sequencing methods. This is the harbinger of the generation of genomic sequencing tech, that is faster and more accurate than the generation used to analyze my tumor tissue.

Starships of the Mind — Science fiction publisher Donald Wollheim has noted a widely shared vision of the human future among science fiction writers. This future history begins with journeys to the planets and their colonization, and extends to interstellar travel, star colonies, and the formation of a human galactic empire. This may be too ambitious for a species of our modest abilities. But if we choose to journey out, however far we go, it will begin with the starships of the mind.

Oscar Pistorius case shows that guns don’t belong at home — Stats prove that the person most likely to die from your weapon is you or someone you know. Your wife, your child, your partner. Not according to the NRA and the Republican party, which together have successfully banned almost all gun violence research in the US so the myth of home defense can go unchallenged. The conservative mind’ favorite tactics when confronted by those liberal “facts” and “data”: lie, then deny. The gun culture harms us all.

[links] Link salad asks what’s the matter with him? Is he all right?

Paradise Lost 3 — Looking for a tight writers’ conference with a high staff:student ratio? Plus me? Check it out.

Post-Sick Sharks — Scrivener’s Error with a whole bunch of commentary and links on publishing and copyright, with focus on (among other things) orphan works. Recommended reading if you’re serious about this stuff.

Before Love: Puritan Beliefs about Sex and Marriage — Unfortunately, that Puritan sexual ethos continues to have grip on American culture, especially in the minds of the vocal and destructive Christianist minority, as part of their ongoing campaign of wholesale social repression and denial of individual rights in the name of a very narrow view of religion and morality.

[links] Link salad worries some more, because worrying is what it does

In Portland, Tex-Mex fare rides again — One of my favorite cuisines, and one rarely found (even poorly executed) here in the foodie town of Portland. I miss Chuy’s from my Austin days, and especially the Hula Hut. (Via my Dad.)

Why We Have a Right to Consumer Genetics — It’s hard to get straightforward health guidance from personal genome tests, which are banned in some places. But one way to make them more meaningful is to let more people buy them.

Thoughts on the Second Amendment — A long but fascinating piece on the Second Amendment’s historical context and judicial interpretations thereof. I was struck by this comment on D.C. v. Heller: Apparently judicial activism is okay for decisions right-wingers happen to like, but not for decisions they don’t like. Well, duh. That’s a cornerstone of the justly famed principled intellectual consistency of American conservatism. More to the point: Americans have clearly stated that the blood of children is an acceptable price for the free availability of guns, and I do not see any marking on the wall that says, “When the pile of bodies reaches this line, things will change.” It is a sad commentary on us as a culture, but there you have it. (Via Steve Buchheit.)

The Secret History of US Drone Strikes in 2012 — Just in case you thought everything was peachy Over There. America embarked on a decade plus of frenzied killing in response to 9-11, mostly of people who had nothing to do with the original event. How do you think they feel about us now?

Gulf Coast Lawmaker Votes Against Sandy Relief — Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS), whose Mississippi district is situated on the Gulf Coast, was one of 67 Republicans on Friday to vote against a $9.7 billion relief package to victims of Hurricane Sandy. Stay classy, Mississippi. It’s not like the Feds gave you any money to help out after Hurricane Katrina. No, wait… I guess this is compassionate conservatism in action.

GOP’s obstructionism is suicide strategy — We should all be so lucky, The key to the suicide bomb strategy is to convince people that members of the conservative wing of the Republican Party are crazy enough to wreck the economy if they don’t get their way. I’m certainly convinced. The congressional GOP have become a basket of vandals and loons completely uninterested in a functional government. Which is the logical outcome of 30 years of “government is the problem” rhetoric, unfortunately for those of us who are still sane and wish to live in a functional society.

Tree Receivers — A very fascinating and weird (and very SFnal) post from BLDG BLOG about using trees for electronic communication.

First you take a leek… — Oh, this soup. Jersey Girl in Portland with the recipe and commentary on her awesome potato-leek soup.

Liberal bullying: Privilege-checking and semantics-scolding as internet sport — Increasingly, I’ve started recognizing this kind of behavior for what it is: privilege-checking as a form of internet sport. It’s a kind of trolling, with all the politics I agree with, but motivations and execution that turns my stomach. It’s well-intended (SO well-intended), but when the motivations seem to be less about opening dialogue about the issues, and more about performance, righteousness, and intolerance for those who don’t agree with you… well, I’m not on-board. Reminds me strongly of certain people and issues in the SFnal community.

Russian Inequality on the Eve of Revolution — In 1904, on the eve of military defeat and the 1905 Revolution, Russian income inequality was middling by the standards of that era, and less severe than inequality has become today in such countries as China, the United States, and Russia itself. So the U.S. has greater income inequality than Tsarist Russia. Yep, definitely need to lower the taxes on the rich from their already historic lows. Because reasons. Conservative ones. (Via danjite.)

A Broken System for Tracking Guns — The bureau — which should have a lead role in protecting the nation from gun crimes — has been severely hindered by an array of N.R.A.-backed legislative restrictions. For example, a 1986 law prohibits A.T.F. agents from making more than one unannounced inspection a year on a gun dealer, a rule that serves no purpose other than protecting unscrupulous dealers. Yep, us antigun liberals are definitely full of it: no hocus pocus in our gun laws or statistics gathering. Just patriotic, intellectually honest Real Americans defending their essential liberties and standing their ground without burdensome government interference.

Let’s Give Up on the Constitution — Hmm. There’s a level at which I take his point. It’s only the Constitution that has allowed a discredited minority party explicitly dedicated to rendering government dysfunctional hold so much of this country’s political process hostage. At the same time, it’s the Constitution that undergirds and binds our system together. Even when the lunatics in the GOP have grabbed the reins.

[links] Link salad knows that a British bank is run with precision

Gunman opens fire at Oregon mall; Suspect, 2 dead — This is a mile or so from my house. Thank God for the NRA and the Republican party. Without their vigorous defense of gun rights, this shooter wouldn’t have been able to pursue his theoretical defense of essential liberties by murdering people for Christmas in my neighborhood. Without widespread availability of firearms, we’d be living in a peaceful liberal hell, I’m just certain of it.

An Epi Phenomenon — While exploring the genetics of a rare type of tumor, Stephen Baylin discovered an epigenetic modification that occurs in most every cancer—a finding he’s helping bring to the clinic. This bit about inflammation leading to DNA methylation actually explains to me a lot about why colon cancer hit me early — I have a lifelong history of bowel distress and colonic irritation, and was diagnosed years before my cancer with IBS.

Roberts Donated Help to Gay Rights Case — You know, my opinion of Chief Justice Roberts couldn’t be any lower if he was a Young Earth Creationist used car salesman, but if he votes on the side of equality and sanity in the Supreme Court’s DOMA review, I will send flowers and chocolate to ericjamesstone.

Scott Tranter, Republican Consultant: Voter ID And Long Lines Help Our Side — “A lot of us are campaign officials — or campaign professionals — and we want to do everything we can to help our side. Sometimes we think that’s voter ID, sometimes we think that’s longer lines — whatever it may be,” Tranter said with a laugh. That’s the real innovation of Mitt Romney: Republicans no longer even bother to lie about their dishonesty and electoral manipulation. I’m old enough to remember when the GOP was all about “character counts”. Too bad nobody in the GOP is.